They get rolled out at the beginning of each week, and we all
check them to see how everybody stacks up. The weekly coaches'
polls are, for the most part, empty calories, but they are nearly
irresistible. It's satisfies a visceral need that all lacrosse fans
have, and it all starts with finding out who is on top of the
heap.

The top-ranked teams are the flag-bearers for each division,
setting the standard by which all others are judged, at least for a
week.

But how do the coaches of the No. 1 ranked teams view the polls?
Do they serve any purpose or provide any value?

"Rankings are for fans," said Chris Ryan, head coach at
Mercyhurst, currently the No. 1 team in NCAA Division II. "I think
that is as straight forward and honest as I can possible be."

"It doesn't mean squat to me," added Steve Beville, the head man
at NCAA Division III top dog Cortland. "It's the same thing as the
ridiculous preseason All-American picks. It's good for the fans and
it's good for the media to speculate, but it doesn't hold much
water."

For Alex Smith, the head coach at Colorado State —
currently atop the MCLA Division I polls — the weekly
rankings have taken on a new role since they've ascended to the
penthouse.

"When we were a little bit down, the rankings served as a
motivator," Smith said. "You want to get back up to the top. When
you're at the top, they mean absolutely nothing. I don't think
about it too much. If you're in that bubble group — in that
10 to 16 range — you're probably sweating every Monday when
the rankings come out."

St. Thomas (Minn.) head coach Pete Moosbrugger has had his team
astride MCLA Division II for nearly every week over the past four
seasons, during which the Tommies have won three national
championships. That consistency has given him a different outlook
on the polls.

"Being ranked No. 1 is kind of our expectation now because we've
been there for a while," Moosbrugger said. "I don't know what it
will be like when we're not, but right now it's a tremendous sense
of a pride for the team. I think it's what drives our guys to be at
practice and running on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You don't want to
get rid of it, but you also know you have to prepare because anyone
can knock you off regardless of the ranking. It's a huge feather to
put in your cap for a year."

There are various views on the polls, but the four coaches on
top of the heap this week all agree that rankings can be used as a
cudgel to keep the players grounded.

"Yesterday we spoke about it in a team meeting and I said, 'Hey,
guys, we're not the No. 1 team in the nation right now,'" Ryan
said. "'We're not where we need to be. We've had teams in this
locker room that were ranked No. 1, and we're not at that level. We
have a long way to go.' To tell you the truth, if anything, from a
coaching standpoint it has been used more as a teaching tool than
to pump up bravado or stir the echoes."

"I use it sometimes," admitted Moosbrugger. "If our guys aren't
motivated or are slacking off, I'll bring it up and say this is
something you earn, and you can lose this spot at any time. You use
it as a motivator, but I haven't had to use it on the day-to-day
basis. If that were the case, we'd be in trouble because we'd be
playing on eggshells."

"Only when I'm pissed off," said Beville of using the No. 1
card. "The only time I bring it up is when I'm mad at them for
thinking that they are better than they are."

The four coaches were asked what their reaction would be if a
player was so excited about earning the top spot in the weekly
poll, that he came running up to the coach and said, "Hey, Coach,
we're No. 1!"

"They know me well enough not to even go there," Smith said.
"There is a certain word they aren't allowed to use during the
course of the year, and I won't even mention it. There is a certain
word that is not allowed to be brought up because 2012 has zero
bearing on where we are as a team right now. We literally never
talk about that stuff. I'm on them so much about the fundamentals
and getting better, we don't have time to see where we are."

"Get on the endline and start doing squat thrusts," said Ryan of
his hypothetical response. "I don't even think my kids would come
up and ask me that because they know what's coming next. It can
serve as a source of pride. As a coach, you'll get texts or emails
from alumni or parents because, again, it's for the fans. As far as
the team goes, the situations that go on in the four walls of the
locker room, as I tell the guys, pick 'em up and put 'em down. Put
one foot in front of the other and move onto the next game."

"I'd laugh at them, basically," added Beville. "It's just too
early to get too excited about a No. 1 ranking, especially in the
first week of March. We can't worry about what the media thinks or
what the rankings are. All that really matters is the regional
rankings that come out about the 14th week of the season."

Again, the situation for St. Thomas is slightly different
because of the Tommies longevity atop the polls. The players at UST
don't get excited about weekly polls because it has become a bit of
a Groundhog Day for them.

"In the past, there was an excitement about getting here and
building the program," Moosbrugger said. "Now we have different
ways of maintaining the ranking. I truly believe that we have the
right system in place, the right players here and the right
coaches. It really is just the expectation here."

If the coaches are by themselves and alone with their thoughts,
can they take any kind of personal satisfaction or find an
affirmation that they are doing a good job in the weekly poll? Ever
the outlier, Moosbrugger answers in the affirmative.

"It is a tremendous sense of pride," he said. "I want people
around me that want the target on their back. I want people who are
motivated by that and say, 'We want to be the standard.' It just
propels us to keep looking at what we do. We've got to keep
reinventing ourselves and stay ahead of everybody else."

The rest of the coaches at the top of the polls? Not so
much.

"We ain't that good," said Beville, growing increasingly weary
of the line of questions. "We have the No. 1 ranking, but we're
coming out of practices and games thinking we're really not that
good right now. Reports that we are really that good are slightly
exaggerated at this point. It's too early."

"You're just setting yourself up to fail to think that way,"
Smith said. "We're going to lose at some point. You hate to think
that way, but if that's the only affirmation you get — where
you are in the polls — then you're not thinking about the
right stuff as a coach. For us, it's about the day-to-day grind.
There was some affirmation at the end of last year, but I enjoyed
that for about a week and a half. There is more pressure to be No.
1 than any pleasure."

"You are probably thinking I'm blowing smoke up your [butt], but
I will tell you as a coach, I spend my day worrying about
everything that is coming at us and how I can get the kids ready to
compete and be competitive," Ryan said. "I am so preoccupied with
that, my boss is calling me, yelling at me because I don't have my
Visa statement submitted yet and I'm missing receipts because my
focus is on the 48 kids in that locker room and the level of
success they can have. I think I suffer from a good amount of
tunnel vision sometimes because you work so hard for these three
months and this is it."

There's got to be some reward that all of the coaches can take
from being the top team in the country in early March. Perhaps it's
something more domestic. Maybe their wives are nicer to them, their
kids listen a little better or the dog gives them an extra lick on
the face.

Anything like that?

"First of all, my wife isn't going to be nice to me unless there
is a diamond involved," Ryan said. "My three kids don't listen
unless I'm bribing them in some way. The dog is going to lick my
face anyway because I'm usually covered in peanut butter. It has
absolutely no benefit. It doesn't get me anything."

"My kids think I'm a minor superstar because they got to see dad
on TV the last four years," Moosbrugger said. "Otherwise, it's just
another day at the office and for my wife it's just another week
away from the family. I wouldn't say it helps me there."

"If anything, my wife is harder on me," Smith said. "Like most
coaches, I'm just a ball of stress at this time of year, so to put
any more on that is not good. It's not easier on me. Let's just say
it that way.

"I'm still taking out the garbage, buddy," Beville said.

Players of the Week

NCAA Division IICorey Rich, A, Sr.,
LimestoneIn an interregional showdown with No. 4 Merrimack, Rich
scored five goals and set up three others, helping the third-ranked
Saints record a 13-10 win. With Limestone trailing 9-8 in the
fourth quarter, Rich connected on a pair of goals and set up two
others, allowing the Saints to rally for the win.

NCAA Division IIIBobby DeWees, M, Sr.,
GettysburgDeWees scored a career high four goals in the Bullets'
12-11, upset victory over No. 3 Lynchburg. He notched a hat trick
in the first half as Gettysburg built a 10-4 lead, and then buried
the eventual game-winner with 4:55 left in the contest.

MCLA Division IMatthew Sommerfeldt, G, Soph., Georgia TechThis honor should probably go to the entire Yellow Jacket
defense, which allowed just four goals over the weekend in
victories over Boston University (2-1) and No. 16 Buffalo (7-3).
Sommerfeldt made nine saves and allowed just the lone goal against
the Terriers and then added eight more stops in the upset over the
Bulls.

MCLA Division IICollin Madsen, M,
Jr., WestminsterIt was a 2-0 week for the Griffins in Colorado, including
a 16-5 beat down of No. 5 North Dakota State, and Madsen was in the
middle of both wins. In the weekend opener against Northern
Colorado, he scored six goals and dished out an assist. On Saturday
against the Bison, Madsen netted a hat trick and set up three
others for a 13-point weekend.

Power Fives

NCAA Division II1. Limestone (7-0) – The
Saints have already bagged Dowling and Merrimack. 'Stone will go
Dolphin hunting this weekend.
2. Le Moyne (4-0) – With the
postponement of the Pace game, the Dolphins will have a 10-day
break before the Limestone tilt.
3. Merychurst (3-0) – Some
uncomfortable times for the Lakers with St. Mike's leading 3-0
after the first quarter. Nice rally, though.
4. Adelphi (2-0) – Still plenty of
work to be done against the Northeast-10, but the Panthers are in a
pretty nice spot right now.
5. Dowling (3-1) – The champs have
bounced back from the opening-season loss with three straight
victories. Tampa's next.

NCAA Division III1. Cortland (3-0) – The Red
Dragons left on Sunday for a week on the road and games against
Stevens and Cabrini.
2. Stevenson (5-0) – I'm on the
edge of my seat waiting for the Mustangs to start their MAC
schedule this weekend.
3. Dickinson (5-0) – The Red Devils
get more frightening every week. They toyed with Roanoke like a
kitten with a string.
4. Stevens (5-0) – Probably just a
hiccup, but going to OT with Muhlenberg doesn't instill confidence
with Cortland next.
5. Washington College (4-0)
– Ted DiSalvo sure has made the graduation of Peter Stewart a
lot easier to handle.

MCLA Division I1. Colorado State (7-0) –
Rams better be ready for Chicago. Duluth is going to throw
everything and the kitchen sink at them.
2. Stanford (7-0) – Yawn. Two more
weeks of snoozers until we finally get to see the Cardinal facing
tough competition (BYU).
3. BYU (6-0) – After fattening up
on some RMLC bottom feeders, the Cougars face a rough swing through
the desert.
4. Colorado (7-0) – The Buffs
surrendered double-digits goals for the first time this
spring in the 18-11 triumph over Simon Fraser.
5. UC Santa Barbara (6-2) – Big
Friday night showdown with Colorado. Too bad the Gauchos retired
The Pit this spring.

MCLA Division II1. St. Thomas (4-0) – With 24 days
to prepare, it's a pretty safe bet that the Tommies will have
Western Oregon well scouted.
2. Westminster (5-3) – The Griffins
assume the mantle of being the last great hope to end the St.
Thomas dynasty.
3. St. John's (4-0) –
Johnnies getting ready to embark on their next challenge: four
ranked teams in a six-day span in Chicago.
4. Concordia (6-1) – The
Eagles have outscored their last three opponents 58-2. So there's
that going for them.
5. Dayton (1-0) – With GVSU and
NDSU getting the gate this week, the Flyers back their way into The
Fives after a hiatus.

Notebooks

NCAA Division II: The concept
of a "good loss" is debatable, but Seton Hill's setback to NYIT
earlier might qualify.NCAA Division III: Making
changes early in the season isn't easy, but it has paid off so far
for Nazareth.MCLA Division I: Boston
College essentially didn't practice for a month before going 3-0 on
its Texas trip.MCLA Division II: Westminster
is playing two seasons concurrently and both are going as
planned.